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Knox County election leaders look ahead to Election Night after historical early voting turnout

Chris Davis, Knox County's election administrator said the best idea is to have a clear plan of when and where to vote on Nov. 5.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Knox County residents set a new record for the number of early votes cast in a presidential election with 163,303. That's about 10,000 more than in 2020, and there's a chance the county will set a new record for the total number of votes cast after Nov. 5.

That possibility led Chris Davis, the Knox County Election Commission's administrator, to work at the commission's westside office on a Sunday.

"We're getting ready for election day at 78 locations across Knox County. Making sure workers are ready to go, and ready, ultimately, to vote as many people as possible on Nov. 5," Davis said.

He worked by himself. His office, the building and the street outside his window were quiet. He said he didn't mind. His staff, whom he said have been regularly working 12-hour days since early voting began two weeks ago, deserved to rest. There'll be plenty of work to do on Tuesday, he said. 

"If we get even a good election day, probably over 50-plus-thousand (sic), we'll break our all-time record in Knox County. Which stands to reason given the number of people that have moved here over the past four years," said Davis. 

Early voting went well. A couple residents complained either in-person or over the phone about wait times and rules restrictions. Requesting an absentee ballot with insufficient time to return it before the end of early voting had been a recent issue, but given the scale, some friction was expected, according to Davis. 

He said he expects Election Night to be long. Tennessee law requires election commissions to wait until the last ballot has been cast before starting to count any of the votes. Polling sites will open at 8 a.m. and everyone who is in line by 8 p.m.. will be allowed to vote.

National polls have shown the presidential race is tight. After almost two years of campaigning building up to this week, Davis said he understands some folks are anxious about election night.

"I know that tensions are high. I know that we all want to vote for our desired candidate, but these are your neighbors, your friends, your coworkers. Just have a little bit of grace and let's get through this," he said.

Davis said he and his staff are excited to see folks, particularly first-time voters, express themselves. Enthusiasm for the right to vote is why they do their job.

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